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BEHIND BARS
With the Indian state
keen that the wheels of kangaroo justice must grind only behind
stone walls, Karamjit Singh was the only scribe who managed to
witness the pronouncement of judgement in Beant Singh case. An
-eye-witness account
 CHANDIGARH:
This was a case in which a chief minister had been assassinated, the
case had gone on for 12 years and more than 500 witnesses had been
rolled out at one stage. Not many would have had the luck to see its
conclusion at close quarters.
This case, from the viewpoint of the
state, was an incident of terror but even those who formulate the
definition of terrorism and terrorist cannot overlook the reality
that the larger paradigm of terrorism is based essentially in
politics and that the murder of Beant Singh was a political murder
and as such was an important twist and not normal occurrence which
was to become a part of the history of a nation.
So among the journalistic fraternity the
wish to be present at the time of the judgment in this case was
natural. Of course somewhere deep in mind was lingering the
impressions left behind by Martin Lings’ well known book At Eleventh
Hour as this philosophical book presents the concept of last moments
and leaves one with a message that these last moments do visit the
nations as well individuals when they, without any fear whatsoever,
transcend this material world and are clear about their destiny.
I wanted too see how these accused in
the Beant Singh murder case acquit themselves in their last
moments.
Incidentally, a character in
Dostoevsky’s The Idiot also lets us into the psyche of the last
moments. So many similar characters and snatches from my reading
were that day pushing me to trudge the path to the Burail jail.
But the problem was that on the D-day
of the judgment, it was clear that an unannounced bar was also
imposed upon the media. I was the only journalist when the judgment
was pronounced in the court held inside the jail that day. But the
police officers took away my diary in which I had taken some notes
regarding this judgment. Till date that diary has not been returned.
The time for the pronouncement of the
judgment was fixed as 2 pm. Some one and a half furlong away from
the Burail jail had the police put up its first barricade. Anyone
proceeding any further towards the jail was first subjected to
questioning here. Vehicles were also made to park here and one had
to trudge the distance will the jail on foot only. When I parked my
car and reached near the gate, I found among the crowds waiting
there the members of the Khalsa Action Committee, relatives of the
accused and friends, journalists and defence counsel A.S. Chahal and
his associates.
The outer gate of the jail was closed,
and a heavy police force was stationed there. When I asked A.S.
Chahal whether it was possible to get inside, he said ‘Come, let’s
try.’
So in such a way, alongside a group of
lawyers, we crossed three obstacle points and entered the court
without much questioning.
I was in civvies and not wearing a black
coat as some have mentioned. At that moment, it was still 10 minutes
to 2 pm. One section of the court was turned into a sort of a cage
into which were to enter the accused. One side of this cage was all
bars reaching out till the roof.
The Hon’ble judge entered the court room
exactly at 2 pm, and dozens of lawyers, security officials and jail
employees got up to welcome him. In one hand the judge was carrying
a booklet in which, it seemed, was the fate of the accused. The
judge was repeatedly flipping through this booklet.
So far a strange silence had pervaded
the atmosphere in the court since the accused had not entered the
cage so far. The lines that appeared on the judge’s face could not
be properly and fully deciphered but he did seem at peace. Every few
minutes he would clasp his hands together and put them to his
forehead.
Only the psycho-analysts can fully
analyze the mental state of the judge in its many layers, and the
law of the land does not allow us to analyze these moments in any
greater detail, and such an attempt could possibly fall within the
purview of the contempt of court.
Around this time, the rear gate of his
cage opened with a twang sound and and one of the accused entered
who loudly hailed everyone present with a Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa,
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. This was Jagtar Singh Hawara, his voice high
pitched with a clear tinge of self-confidence and sehaj.
 After him followed another accused, who
said Fateh with both hands folded and sat down. This was Balwant
Singh. Balwant Singh was sporting a kesri dastaar, and his
flowing beard added an interesting glow to his face. He was wearing
a white muslin shirt. For a few moments, he gazed at everyone
present in the court one by one with sharp eyes. It seemed he was
searching among the crowd for his sister who had come to listen to
the judgment being pronounced. Then entered the rest of the accused,
among them was also Navjot Singh whom the judge was to acquit soon.
In a matter of 5-7 minutes, the judgment was pronounced.
Senior advocate Chahal was trying to
stress the point that if there was any other case against Navjot
Singh, then they should be informed about it right now, because
there were suspicions that the police could cook up something or
foist some old case on him thus laying obstacles in the way of his
release.
After the judge had pronounced his
judgment, Balwant Singh raised the slogans of Khalistan Zindabad,
and also sounded Shaheed Dilawar Singh Amar Rahe and Shaheed Dilawar
Singh Zindabad.
There was not a hint of fear in Balwant
Singh’s loud voice. In fact, he seemed even more at peace than
before and clear in his mind about his mission.
Some lawyers and relatives quickly piled
on towards the cage so that they could all talk for a few fleeting
moments with the accused, who, except for Navjot, were no more
accused now, but had become guilty. The policemen were also crowding
around this melee.
My intention was to talk a bit to Jagtar
Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh. Making my way through this crowd, I
went towards Jagtar Singh and introduced myself and thus immediately
a brief but very significant and historic meeting was begun.
Journalist: How are you feeling now?
Hawara:
I am very happy, very much happy. We have done nothing wrong.
Journalist: Your destination?
Hawara:
Our aim is Khalistan; we will fight for its accomplishment till the
last breath. We have no personal opposition or animosity with
anyone.
Journalist: How were you feeling this
morning since you knew that today is the D-day for the judgment?
Hawara:
I stuck to my routine just like everyday. I first recited path, and
then did some exercise…
Jounalist:
We keep hearing this even outside that you lay a lot of stress on
exercise. Is this hobby very dear to you?
Hawara:
Yes, this has been my very dear hobby. I do some exercise daily. I
will do some exercise even before I kiss the gallows. (laughter).
Journalist: Even then, if I ask how did
you feel after hearing the judgment, then what will be your answer?
Hawara:
Just as a farmer feels very light after the harvest, I too was
feeling the same lightness of being. I have no worries.
Journalist: Do you want to give any
message to your people, your associates?
Hawara:
Yes, I want that unity must be maintained among our people. Yes, I
do want to say that we are against the killings of innocents,
because we have no animosity with anyone.
 By this time the cops were tugging at
our arms, telling us that enough was enough. Then two police
officers walked up to me and wanted to know about me. When told that
I was a journalist, they insisted that I must be presented before
the judge at the retiring room. By this time, A S Chahal came to my
aid and he argued that this was an open court and where was it
written that he cannot come in? After some sharp exchanges with the
police officers, I came out of the jail where a big crowd was
waiting. When I tried leaving for home with an English language
journalist a heavy police posse followed me and snatched my diary in
which I had taken some notes. The policemen again tried to take me
back to the jail but leaders of the many political parties present
there prevented this from happening and also asked that the diary be
returned. It hasn’t been. At this occasion, Shiromani Khalsa
Panchayat’s Rajinder Singh, Dal Khalsa’s Kanwarpal Singh, Shiromani
Committee member Karnail Singh Panjoli, Akhand Kirtani Jatha’s R P
Singh, Akali Dal (Amritsar)’s Surinder Pal Singh, Sikh Students
Federation president Paramjit Singh Gazi and other leaders condemned
the problems being created by the police for the media people.
Scholar of Politics Gurtej Singh was also present.
I also wanted to have a meeting with
Balwant Singh because he had confessed to his role in this murder
and had not engaged any lawyer for his defence. Incidentally, like
Balwant Singh, Bhai Sukhdev Singh and Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda had
also similarly declared that they will not appeal against the
decision in any court. Due to the paucity of time available, I could
not succeed in having a proper meeting with Balwant Singh.
One thing more I noticed was that when Balwant Singh was raising
slogans of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’, then none of the other accused was
responding. So much so that even Jagtar Singh Hawara also did not
respond. It seemed as if the personal differences between the two
had crept into the path that lead to a common mission.
1 August, 2007
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